Your website is, in some ways, a living, breathing thing. It needs constant care and attention. It can impact every facet of your business, from your reputation to your future. Making sure your site evolves with your business needs to be a top priority. But how do you know when a website redesign is necessary?
Outdated Websites Need Occasional Redesign to Remain Competitive
Outdated websites can severely impact a business. One survey found that about 70% of respondents would not purchase from a company with a poorly-designed website. If a potential customer doesn’t trust your website, they probably won’t trust your company and a website redesign is a must in this case. Today, most people access the Internet from a mobile device, and about 57% say they wouldn’t recommend a business following a disappointing interaction on a mobile device.
Things to consider before redesigning your website
Lack of Modern Design
Websites with an outdated look and feel are more likely to drive users to a more modern competitor’s site. Those sites that are difficult to navigate, with pages added or removed without consideration for information architecture or user experience could result in a site that feels bogged down and difficult for users to navigate.
Aging Sites Rank Lower
Outdated sites tend to rank lower on search engine results pages. Therefore, if it has been a while since your site has seen an update, your competition may show up ahead of you on a search’s results. This is especially true if your competition has produced fresh content. Additionally, over 40% of users select the first search result, while fewer than 3% will scroll to the second page of results. A fresh, modern website redesign will prevent you from falling into search engine purgatory.
Changing Focus? Redesign Your Website
Have you started offering products or services that are not yet listed on your website? Or perhaps there is something you stopped offering a while back, but is still listed online. If so, why? As a company evolves, it must continue to highlight new services online or axe outdated content. Otherwise, you may just confuse potential customers.
Outdated Logos
A cardinal sin in e-commerce is showing off your company’s old logo even after your branding has changed. Your logo is the primary identity you have. A good logo ensures you have something consistent and powerful, something that stands for your brand. So why would your website bear an outdated symbol? Your old logo might be failing to capture the critical benefits of your business. While most businesses fear changing their logo over concerns it will affect their markets, a new logo lets clients know they should expect something better than before. Updating to your current logo during a website redesign is key to showing off how evolving your business is.
Tech Stack at the End of Life
Hate to say it, but those cutting-edge tools you included in your website redesign a few years back are now woefully out of date. Technology is ever-evolving; new ways of doing things behind-the-scenes are constantly being devised. An outdated tech stack means a system may no longer be working well, and essential tools may not function properly. This could result in an unpleasant user experience for your visitors. It could also mean security breaches for your site. For your own safety, a website redesign might be necessary.
A Website is Never Finished
Good websites are never complete, they’re always evolving. Regularly updating your site with fresh content, improved layouts, or added features will not only instill more trust in visitors to your site, it will also rank higher with search engines like Google.
Time for Reflection
If you feel your website might not be evolving with your business, it’s time to ask yourself a few questions. Does the design look outdated? Are conversions or sales decreasing? Have there been complaints about user experience or other design-related issues? If you’ve answered yes to any of these, then it is time for a redesign.
Get in touch with SIVA Inc. today to discuss how we can bring your website up to date.